Waking Love
by ForeverBreathlessXO
Summary: AU, Set in Modern Tokyo. The Shitennou have been tasked with awakening the Senshi one on one. Kunzite is assigned Sailor Venus. What he thinks will be an open and shut case is proving to be more difficult than he originally thought.
1. Chapter I

Wellll I'm back! For now... I have to admit I'm not the most dedicated writer, although I'd like to be T.T I'm sorry! I promise I'll work really hard not to let you down!

Welcome to my newest story, which I have every intention of writing AT LEAST 10 chapters to. It's AU, and going to revolve around Kunzite and Minako, with mentions of the other senshi/shitennou in passing. Each of the generals has been given the order, from Mamoru, to awaken the scouts for the upcoming battle with Beryl. I'm not entirely sure how much of Beryl is actually going to come up, I might end it with all the scouts uniting and making the decision to fill out their destiny. Also, just exactly HOW Mamoru awakened before Sailor Moon or any of the other scouts will be explained! I don't intend to just ignore that fact. Also, I don't have Microsoft Word, so I'm writing this on WordPad... Hence whatever spelling mistakes are made, whether by ignorance or just mis-typing, I'm sorry! I don't have a Beta either... Anyone interested? Let me know! So without further ado, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, or V-Babe.

Lights. Camera. ACTION.

* * *

><p>Chapter I: Found<p>

A tall man walked down the busy streets of Tokyo. Quietly and swiftly making his way through the throngs of people toward his destination, Shiba Koen Junior High School. He still wasn't sure about how his Prince was going to have him go about this. Awakening the Defender of Venus. Just how he was supposed to do that, he wasn't sure. His comrades would be struggling with the same situation any moment now as well, and as leader of Prince Endymion's Shitennou it was Kunzite's responsibility to accomplish his mission as soon as possible and relay information to his fellow generals.

As he made the final turn of his walk, he found himself staring into the eyes of a white cat. Perched on the ledge of a brick wall, as tall as Kunzite's shoulders. The cat was unusual to say the least, staring at Kunzite with a strange look that resembled judgment. Kunzite quirked a brow at the strange creature, giving it a look over. A clean white coat, big eyes, a seemingly simple cat. The only distinction was a strange golden crescent shaped mark on it's forehead. The cat seemed to give him a once-over as well, promptly turned around, and jumped down onto the other side of the wall. Confused, but not dwelling on it, Kunzite approached the gate of the school. It was nearing three. The bell should ring any minute, signaling the school days end. Taking the remaining moments of silence, he thought about just how he was going to pick her out. He supposed that he should be able to sense some kind of restrained power, and pick her out that way, but seeing as his own magical abilities were limited, he wasn't sure how to tap into that himself.

The bell sounds, the yard slowly fills with girls and boys chattering, oblivious to the man standing beside the gate, waiting for something to jump out at him. Twenty minutes pass. Thirty. Convinced he missed her, he resolves to come back the next day. He's turning around, when he catches a glance of gold. He turns around again, to observe a young girl leaving the doors with a look of exhaustion on her face. Long gold hair, shimmering with an ethereal glow, tied back with a bright red bow. Big blue eyes, which would've been extremely beautiful if they didn't look so disappointed. For whatever reason, Kunzite was drawn to her. He didn't like that she looked so beaten down, and wanted to do something about it. He just didn't know what.

_'Could this be her?'_ He thought; he hoped. Now that someone had caught his attention, he wasn't sure how he was going to approach her. Kunzite was someone who appreciated the direct approach, he had planned to flat out tell her who he was, who she was, and continue from there depending on her reaction. But he still wasn't 100 percent sure it was her. He supposed he needed to wait for some kind of confirmation.

While waiting for something, he had no idea what, he noticed the strange white cat from before approach the girl. From the distance he walked behind her and rubbed up against her legs. She apparently hadn't noticed him, and jumped away in surprise. The pose she landed in could only be described as... awkward. She had her knees bent in some strange angle, with one arm above her head as if to protect it from some unknown falling object, and the other waving her bag in the cat's general direction. While stepping backwards she tripped on her heel and fell straight on her butt. _'She's.. a klutz.'_ Kunzite continued to watch as she.. crawled over to the cat.

"Artemis!" he heard her call out to the small animal as she started petting it affectionately. Her face lit up in a smile, and it seemed she became a whole new person. It was a sharp contrast from just moments ago when it seemed she was ready to fall over at the smallest breath of wind.

While petting the cat, she looked up sharply and looked straight into his eyes. Kunzite found himself shocked once again. He was just glad that Jadeite or Zoisite wasn't here to hold this over his head. It was very unlike him to be caught off guard three times in one day. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the thought of those two and the immature remarks they'd be sure to make. As he came back into focus, he noticed her approaching him. Gathering his wits once more, he waited for her to come to him.

"Can I help you with something? Do you need directions somewhere?" she asked him, in what he could only describe as a melodic voice. The cat was held in her arms, staring at him with a peculiar expression for a cat. "No." Was all he said.

Kunzite wanted to kick himself. _'Smooth,'_ he thought. But all she did was give a soft giggle. "Well, my name is Minako. Aino Minako." She said, extending her hand to meet his. The cat seemed to give her a look of disbelief, as if to say, "What're you doing?" Kunzite stood stiffly looking at her hand with something that must have been bewilderment. Thank Gaia Jadeite and Zoisite were no where to be found. She just continued to laugh softly. "This is the part where you shake my hand? What's the matter?" In response, he took her hand in his. "See? Nothing happened." she said with another smile.

But she was wrong.

Not that there was a spark or anything. No. Definitely not. It was more of.. a surge of energy. At that, Kunzite decided that this was her. _'That had to have been her power.'_ This was the Defender of Venus. This simple girl was destined to become the leader of the Sailor Scouts. At this, the cat in her arms reached over and bit Kunzite. He quickly withdrew his hand, breaking the spell between the two. "Artemis! Why'd you do that!" she chastised the cat. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what his problem is!" she glared down at him. He just continued looking at Kunzite without remorse.

"It's fine," said Kunzite. "You're not one to waste words are you?" Kunzite blinked. "Well whatever the case, let me make it up to you. For Artemis I mean. Meet here tomorrow? I'll give you a tour of Tokyo! You look like you're not from around here. I'll see you here, k?" She gave him another smile, and walked away.

Kunzite was once again, at a loss for words at what had just happened. He was not liking where this was headed. Why? The girl was already proving to be a handful. Nevertheless, he'd come back the next day. 

* * *

><p>"Kunzite! You finally made it!" Mamoru said. Kunzite took a seat at the bar while his Prince gave him a friendly slap on the back. "Am I the last to get here?" the white haired man asked. "Yep, all the others have been waiting so we can start swapping stories."<p>

"Well, by all means..." Kunzite grumbled, as Mamoru got up and led him over to the others. "Ah! The mighty Kunzite finally graces us with his presence. To what do we owe this honor?" Asked Kunzite's right hand man, Jadeite. Honestly, what possessed Mamoru to put Jadeite as the second line of defense? The man doesn't take anything seriously. Except maybe his hair.

Ignoring the blond's question, he sat down and promptly ordered a gin and tonic from a passing waitress. He noticed her give a small wink, to which he didn't react. As they sat down, the other four men started chatting about how the day had gone. They had each found the girl whom they believed to be the Defender of their respective planet.

Mizuno Ami would become Sailor Mercury. So far all Zoisite had to report on her was that she was extremely quiet, and had a refined air about her that was intriguing. Jadeite said that Hino Rei, the future Sailor Mars, seemed eternally angry, yet he felt like there was more than she seemed. "Definitely the Goddess of War!" He joked. Nephrite agreed that Kino Makoto had more beneath the surface, while she portrayed a tough tomboy. He had no doubt that she could hold her own in a fight, but there was a gentleness to her that he couldn't help but notice as well.

The group looked to him expectantly. "Her name is Aino Minako." Was all Kunzite managed to get out before Jadeite guffawed. "Beauty of Love! Talk about a dead give away! Her parents obviously got the memo! So what was she like?"

"Like a girl. Honestly she seemed very simple. A bit of a klutz maybe, but maybe it's a phase. I'm quite confident that she'll awaken in no time."

"Careful Kunzite! Don't want to judge a book by it's cover do you? That's just inviting all kinds of contradictions to come your way solely for the purpose of proving you wrong." said Nephrite with a smug grin.

"Well why don't you look to the stars and read me my fortune Madam Unmei." replied Kunzite with a smirk. Zoisite nearly had a coughing fit when he heard that one. Jadeite didn't have the problem and laughed outright. "You think you're _so _clever." Nephrite rolled his eyes.

As the joking died down, Zoisite turned to Mamoru. "So what's the next step?"

_'Always the strategist.' _thought the General. "Honestly, I don't have a solid next step. The only thing I can say for sure is that we need to get closer to them. Find out how they operate individually. We still have no idea how to awaken them so we should gather information on them in the meantime. I'll continue searching for the Princess of the Moon while you keep an eye on her senshi. We'll meet here once a week to discuss progress."

With that they started to bid each other good night, promising that they'd see each other next Thursday night. As Kunzite reached his apartment and was falling into bed, he couldn't help but think of the golden haired beauty, and what tomorrow would be like.

* * *

><p>Aaaand there you have it! I'm working on Chapter II as you... read? I'm going to try and update regularly and aim for AT LEAST once a week. I'll do my best! Hope you enjoy! Review please! ^_^<p> 


	2. Chapter II

Alright! So I'm semi-happy with how the first chapter turned out. I feel like it was a little fast-paced, and I kinda want that at first, but soon I'll have to slow myself down. I feel like I need to point out that in this fic Sailor V will pretty much be obselete. I plan on taking some liberties and including some parts (mostly focusing on Kaitou Ace) and including him in the plot as originally as possible. However this fic IS AU, so there will be a lot of differences. I'll throw in a little more Minako/Kunzite action this chapter :) It's why we're all here after all haha

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

* * *

><p>Chapter II: Magic<p>

Minako was struggling to keep her eyes open. She was trying as hard as she could to pay attention, but she just couldn't put her heart into it. When in her life would she need to reference the French-Indian war to be successful? She was going to be a model for Heaven's sake! They weren't exactly known for their brains!

It wasn't that she didn't put stock in intelligence. She respected those who had the dedication to do well in school. She just didn't see the need for her to be as dedicated.

The bell rang. Thank God! Finally she could get out of this hell hole. She dreaded returning home tonight though. Having to tell her mother she'd failed _another _test. Japanese this time. She didn't see the point in studying the language she already knew. Pointless. On her way through the halls she spotted her best and only friend (besides Artemis) Hikaru. "Minako! Want to go shopping with me? It's Friday after all!"

If at that moment, Minako and Hikaru _hadn't _been walking out the doors and into the yard, Minako would've jumped up and down at the chance to spend some time with her friend. But when she spotted the man from yesterday in the exact same place as the day before, she lost all words. She hadn't been sure he'd take her seriously and actually come back.

The man seemed to see how she was frozen there with her friend, and gave her a small smirk, which only caused the blonde to turn a deep red. "Gomen Hikaru. I already made plans with someone." she said softly, which was _very_ out of character for her. "Eh? Who? A boy?" asked her friend. "Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this, huh? Who is he?"

"I don't know his name!" she said with a call over her shoulder as she left her friend waiting at the door.

"Minako!" Hikaru called, but it was too late. The raven haired girl huffed as her friend approached a man standing by the gate, and she was surprised. Minako had always been boy crazy, but to chase after a _man?_ Suddenly she was worried, and hoped for the best for her friend. Though, as long as she'd known Minako, the girl had always been capable of taking care of herself.

Minako approached the stranger from the day before with an almost sneaky grin on her face. "I wasn't sure you'd come back after my cat attacked you. I guess my charm is hard to resist." she said with a flip of her hair. The stranger gave a small chuckle. "You might say that, where is your protective companion today?"

"I left him home. He's grounded."

Kunzite chuckled. "You were that upset with your pet over biting a stranger?"

"Yes! It was very rude! And it reflected badly on me wouldn't you think? What kind of person would I be if I let my vicious pet roam the streets without discipline?" A pout crossed her pretty face, looking at him with those blue orbs shining like the sea.

"Forgive me Minako, I may not know you but I hardly think someone like you worries about discipline. I had you pegged as someone who doesn't care for rules."

"Well my good sir, you'll find I'm full of surprises," she said with a wink. "On the contrary though, I have a high respect for the rules! ...Well... certain rules anyway. If they don't serve a real purpose then I don't see the need to abide by them." she said with eyes flashing. Inwardly she was confusing herself. Why was she talking this way? So proper, yet flirtatious? She usually was very direct, she never danced around the subject before.

The silver haired foreigner rose a brow in amusement. "Oh, so you're selective as to which rules you follow?"

"Yes, I know which rules are for my benefit and which are there because those who created them simply want to control me. And I'm such a... free spirit."

"I must say, I've never met a girl quite like you."

"Well of course you haven't! I'm one of a kind."

"I can see that." He smirked.

At this she was a slightly taken aback. He hardly knew her, and here he was acting as if they'd known each other for years. Another blush crossed her face, and she officially decided that she was going insane. Since when did she blush? She was Aino Minako. She was the most shameless flirt to ever grace the streets of Japan! And she owned that! She would not let some _random stranger_ (however good looking!) make her look like an amateur!

She took a step closer to him and tossed her hair over her shoulder causing the faint scent of vanilla and honeysuckle to waft to him gently. "So where exactly are you from?" she asked looking up through her lashes with a coy expression. "I think I can safely say that I've never seen someone like you as well."

But he was barely fazed.

"My family is from the Middle East. But I haven't been there in years. I've been something of a nomad since I was able to leave home."

Trying to hide her slight disappointment at his lack of reaction, she continued her pursuit. "Wow that's amazing! You're so lucky to have seen the world. It's been a dream of mine to get out of the country too. See as much of this world as I can!" At this she threw her arms out and spun a few feet away from him. Her hair was still twirling after she stopped, wrapping around her like a golden blanket. As it fell back into place, she looked over her shoulder and gave him her most charming smile.

Still nothing. Not even a blip! Still staring at her with an almost (dare she say it) _bored_ expression on his handsome face. What was she doing wrong? As if everything else about this guy wasn't enough, she was even more intrigued. She turned to face him again, crossing her arms behind her back. "So how about that tour?"

* * *

><p>Some hours later she was approaching her home. She'd had a fabulous time with this man. The conversation flowed between them so effortlessly. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so comfortable with someone. Although, while they had spent the entire afternoon getting to know each other (and a skill Minako took particular pride in was burning through topics rapidly) she felt as though he was holding something back.<p>

It caused her to feel two things for him. One, an increasing curiosity. She wanted to know his deepest and darkest secrets. (Maybe he'd killed a man, or perhaps was secretly a fleeing robber or spy!) And two, some sort of forbidden desire for him. Maybe because of the air of mystery he projected, or because he's older than she by a good 4 years at least! Or also possibly (and most likely) because while he was interested in her, he wasn't _showing _interest in her.

He asked her questions about everything in her life, her family, her background, her likes and dislikes. Her thoughts on political matters, her ideology, her personal morality. She vaguely realized they hadn't spent very much time talking about him. As they approached her home driveway she spoke up again, "Well, this is me! We'll have to do this again, you're the perfect distraction from coming home!" she gave another cheery smile. "Next time," she warned, "we'll talk more you about you, mister. No more of this deflection you were pulling earlier."

"So you noticed." the man gave a cross between a chuckle and a sigh. "Of course I did!" huffed the pretty blonde. "I just went along with it because now we have a whole new conversation topic for next time." she gave him a wink, and walked down her driveway.

Minako opened the front door, and stepped in. "I'm home!" she called, as she took off her shoes and shut the door. Gazing out the window in the door as discreetly as she could, she saw him still standing there like a silent protector. She gave a small smile and turned away.

"Minako! Come to the kitchen please!" called her mother. Minako treaded lightly, both figuratively and literally. "What is it Momma?" she asked as brightly as she could. "Where have you been?"

Minako sensed something was wrong. Usually her mother didn't care if she didn't come home right away. "At the library with Hikaru," she said softly. "We were studying for the upcoming geography test."

"Minako, I think I can tell when my own daughter is lying to me."

Minako froze, but she tried not to let her fear register. "What do you mean Momma?"

Her mother gave her a stern look. "I got a call from a co-worker. She saw you walking around the shopping district with a man. A man!" she stressed. "What were you doing with him! Do you know what people will say?"

At this Minako's eyes became fierce. "We were talking Momma. I guess I missed the memo when a man and woman conversing became a crime."

"Oh come now Minako don't be so over dramatic. It's not appropriate is all! Micha said that he looked like he had to be at least of university age! I thought you'd know better than to talk to someone like that!"

"Someone like who, Momma? What are you so afraid of, you've never been interested in the guys I've been friends with before! What makes him so different?"

"He's not appropriate for you! He's much too old, there's no way his intentions toward you are innocent, or even honest! Not to mention what the neighbors will think if-"

"Oh I see now, this isn't about about me it's about you! Just like everything always is!" The two women's voices had risen to a shout, causing Artemis to come silently down the stairs and stand nearby when Minako would surely need him.

"Minako that is not true, I-" But she never got to continue. "Momma you have never, not once, asked me how my day has gone when I come home from school. Not the day when I came home with Artemis, not when I came home with a bouquet of flowers, or even when I would come home in tears. Don't pretend today was any different. You're only worried because you've been dragged into it."

"You will not see him again Minako, do you hear me?"

"You will _not _tell me who I will or will not be friends with!"

She held her ground, glaring with her hard blue eyes which had become as violent as a rough sea.

"Young lady, I've never-" Deciding she'd had enough Minako pivoted on her toes and marched upstairs. "Fine you want to walk away now? You'll walk away without dinner!"

"Fine by me!" Minako yelled from the top of the stairs just before slamming her door like an eight year old. Artemis of course had been right behind her, and promptly jumped onto her bed, just before she collapsed onto it.

Minako started to sob. It wasn't often that her mother could drive her to tears, but she was hurt. It wasn't so much the fight that upset her, as her mother's obvious lack of any real interest in her. She wanted to be able to talk to her mother. She really did. About clothes, school, make-up, boys, drama and all those other things she heard her friends talking to their mothers about. She'd never had that relationship with her mother. And her father was too spineless to ever stand up for his daughter when these things happened.

Minako continued to sniffle into her pillow as Artemis came up to her face and licked her face a few times. "You alright, Mina?" he asked, using his affectionate nickname for her. She gave a small sad smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I always am, right? And tomorrow we'll both pretend it never happened.."

Artemis frowned. He wished he could help the situation but being a cat his choices were rather restricted, and he didn't have enough power to transform to his human self to try and step in. So he did all he could. He curled up in the curve on Minako's body and let her pet him as she cried herself out.

To get her mind off of what had just happened Minako was thinking about the white haired mystery man from earlier, and how she couldn't wait for the weekend to be over. Funny how she was actually anticipating school on Monday...

Minako snapped up in bed so fast Artemis nearly went flying off merely by defensive reflex. As he groggily woke up he asked, "What's wrong, Mina?"

"I still don't know his name!" she pouted.

* * *

><p>That's it for now! Wow, <em>under <em>a week for me! I'm impressed with myself!

So I know the scene between them was a little rough, but I'm gonna work on it :) I hope you enjoyed it! I'll get chapter three out as soon as it's finished! Review! :D


	3. Chapter III

Welcome to Revised Chapter Three! A LOT is different from the previous edit! There's a whole new scene, plus I went back and tried to Minako and Kunzite's relationship less angsty and dramatic. Anyways, please read, and tell me what you think of the new edit!

Chapter III : Close

Kunzite approached the school once again, the weekend having finally passed. He thought back to Friday night when he had dropped off the young lively blonde. While she had seemed cheery at the time he felt like she wasn't kidding when she'd said that she didn't look forward to going home. It was almost like a sort of resignation. To what he wasn't sure.

After the bell rang he had a shorter wait than usual. She came practically flying out the courtyard scanning the crowd, for him he assumed. Finding him rather quickly (not hard to do) she forced her way through the crowd before coming to a stop directly in front of him with her hands on her hips and a pout on her lips.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked with a trace of a chuckle in his voice. "Yes! You still haven't told me your name!" she shouted incredulously. He reeled back slightly from surprise at how loud she had broadcast that. Quite a few other students were looking over at the pair, causing whispers to erupt through the crowd.

"Uh, well why don't we take a walk and we'll talk about it." He shifted uncomfortably. He'd never been one for the spotlight. She, however, seemed totally oblivious to the attention she was attracting and would not be deterred. "Oh ho, no sir! You're not deflecting another entire afternoon! I demand you tell me your name before we take another step!"

Kunzite was at a loss of what to do about this. At this point he'd be telling the whole school yard his name, and he was severely uncomfortable with that. Not only that, he was sure to anyone else they would appear to be having a lovers' quarrel, and he definitely did not want that trouble catching up with him. Especially when it was far from the truth.

"Minako, I promise I'll tell you when we get away from here," he whispered, closing the distance between them ever so slightly. "but for now I'd rather not to tell your whole school my identity."

Suddenly realizing the silence in the yard, she looked around to her fellow schoolmates and gave a blush and embarrassed laugh. She looked back to him and gave him a nod as if to say, "lead the way."

When they left the yard they felt many pairs of eyes on them and it only served to make it more awkward. After remaining silent for a good half mile away from the school, she finally turned to him. "Sorry! I never seem to notice the attention I draw to myself..." she put her hand behind her head in a rare sign of bashfulness.

He gave a slight frown. "You should be more careful, Minako."

She dipped her head in shame. "Are you mad at me?" The girl chanced a look up at him with her nervous cornflower blue orbs. "Of course not, I'm just worried. You should be more aware of your surroundings. Say you don't notice someone following you home or someone slips something to you."

At this she gave him one of her coy smiles. "You're worried about me," she said with a sly smirk. "Yes, I am. I want to protect you."

She hadn't anticipated how immediately he'd answer. She was hoping to fluster him just slightly. Apparently he was the one skilled at making her speechless. She scoffed and crossed her arms. "I can take care of myself! I'm deceptively strong and quick."

"But if they get the jump on you or drug you how much of a fight can you really put up?"

Taking a minute to think, she looked him up and down. "How about I show you?"

She finally did it. She caught him off guard! His eyes even widened in shock! He fidgeted slightly, eventually ending up with one hand covering his mouth and looking down the sidewalk where they had stopped. Eventually he looked back at her, "Are you suggesting a sparring match?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting," she beamed. He continued to look at her with some mixture of disbelief, doubt and surprise on his face. After another minute he resumed their walk again. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? It'd better not be because you have some stupid 'I will not fight a girl' complex! Talk about medieval," she grumbled under her breath.

There was a slight pause. "It _is _because you have a complex! Oh come on, you're not going to hurt me, and even if you do I won't hold it against you! I'm challenging you, remember?"

"It's yes and no, Minako. Yes, I am uncomfortable sparring with you because you're a girl. A _young _girl. I believe very deeply that the man should always protect a woman at whatever cost. Fighting you would be like going against my own moral code."

While as noble as the thought was, she found it to be very outdated. A woman couldn't always count on a man. It was just the truth of this world. If a woman resigned herself to count on a man for protection and rescue she was doomed. However, there was something incredibly attractive about his chivalrous morals. She could see that he was definitely a man's man.

"For another matter, if people were to see us sparring they'd likely believe I was attacking you."

He had a point there. Her pout grew. "Oh alright, but never count me out! I can hold my own if I need to." she crossed her arms in exasperation.

Kunzite gave a small smirk at her resolve. "I have no doubt."

They were silent for a time, continuing their walk in a peaceful silence. Well, peaceful for him. She gave him a critical gaze as they walked. "Why do you keep meeting me?"

The question caught him off-guard... again. He had no idea how to approach the subject anymore. _'I suppose,'_ he thought to himself, _'there's no other way but to show her who I really am first.' _

The pair came to a stop again. There were a few moments of silence, as Kunzite thought about how to break it to her. That her childhood was over. She was going to be robbed of worrying over simple things, like boys, and squabbles with friends. It would be her sole duty to protect the Moon Princess. He remembered how severely she took her duty.

"Minako," he began cautiously. "There's something I need to tell you. Something important." he watched her expression carefully. "Well what is it?" she whispered.

She slowly, waiting for him to continue. "I need to-"

A sudden squeal behind her caused them to break the moment that had been building. She turned around to see Artemis sitting behind her on the ground. The feline appeared as calm as could be. One look behind him and you wouldn't think he'd be so calm as the car came screeching by.

Artemis had followed Minako and the strange man from the week before from the school courtyard today, listening to their every word. He recognized him. Remembered him even. He'd been the one to betray his charge in their last life. Silently, he watched them. It was his duty to make sure this man wasn't going to hurt Minako again.

When he saw them come to a stop, and Minako's face become intrigued, he knew what he was going to say, and he also knew he had to stop him. Minako wasn't ready yet. But he was across the street! What was he going to do? He watched a lone car approach and sighed. _'Well,' _he thought somberly, _'it's not like it'll be the first time I've chanced fate.' _With that.. comforting thought in mind he sprang out from the bush on the other side of the road, directly in front of the oncoming car.

The driver slammed on its brakes as soon as the cat jumped from his hiding place. Swerving as hard as he could to the side of the road the cat had come from, very nearly colliding with a tree on the nearby sidewalk. When the car came to stop, the driver's hands fell from the wheel to collect himself with a sigh of relief.

"Artemis! What'd you do!" Minako herself now ran into the road, which was thankfully still void of cars. The driver stepped out, as Kunzite joined her. He was almost as tall as himself, with slightly wavy black hair, and eyes as deep blue as Minako's. "I'm so sorry sir! I don't know what got into my cat! Are you alright? You didn't hit anything did you?"

"I'm just fine, thanks. I'm just glad I didn't hit your cat. Don't worry about it, these things happen."

"Are you sure you're alright Mamoru?" Kunzite asked with as much concern as he would ever show. Minako took a small step back, "Wait, you know this guy?"

"Yes I'm fine Kale, just trying to calm down." Mamoru confirmed as he sat back against his car breathing deeply. "Your name's Kale!" Minako shouted loudly, bouncing her fist on the top of her other hand's palm. Mamoru gave a look at Kunzite that was full of mirth. Kunzite's slightly concerned expression changed to something of a scowl. "Kale, how rude not to introduce yourself to this girl, much less myself." the dark haired man teased.

Kunzite sighed. "Minako, this is my closest friend Mamoru Chiba. Mamoru this is Aino Minako." he said with a pointed look at the Prince of the Earth. Minako seemed oblivious (once again) and turned to Mamoru with her hand extended. "Pleased to meet you!" she beamed.

Mamoru took her hand before freezing for a moment. Minako seemed to do the same briefly. When they released Minako seemed to shake it off, while it was Mamoru's turn to give Kunzite a look. One that clearly said, _'We'll talk later.'_

"Well I should re-" began Mamoru, but he was cut off by yet another loud shout. "I got it!" exclaimed the over-excited blonde. After regaining their hearing, the two men looked at her again. "Got what, exactly." deadpanned Kunzite. Did the woman really have no concept of how loud she was?

Kunzite and Mamoru exchanged another look. "That Kale's gay!" she said brightly.

All three men present looked at her with varying expressions. Artemis was looking at his charge with disappointment. She had a lot to learn about reading people. Mamoru had promptly slapped a hand over his mouth in an effort to stop the hysterical laughter that was shaking his body. Kunzite just looked horrified.

"And _what _would possess you to think_ that_?" Kunzite prided himself on his self-control. It was a rare occasion that he ever raised his voice. Mamoru had been present for it maybe twice in all the years he'd known him. Now he could add another tally.

Minako hardly noticed though. "Well you and Mamoru-kun have been giving each other all kinds of looks. Not to mention you looked worried when you found out he was the driver! Mamoru-kun's your partner, ne?" she asked with a smile.

Mamoru wasn't laughing anymore. "We're _not _gay!" they shouted in stereo. Minako blinked. "...Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Minako looked between the two men with a dainty finger resting on her chin as she analyzed them. "But, the way you guys looked at each other? And Kale's obvious lack of attraction..." she trailed off, muttering to herself and seemed more unsettled than ever.

"Mouuu, I was so sure!" she finally relented. At this Mamoru chuckled, while Kunzite still silently scowled off to the side.

"Well I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but I was on my way to cram school and I was late as it was. I'll see you later Kale?"

"Of course Mamoru." Kunzite nodded. "Thursday night, like we planned."

"It was nice to meet you, Minako-chan." He gave her a heart warming smile, just before ducking into his car, and taking off. Despite herself, Minako could feel her cheeks heating up slightly, and tried to calm herself before Kale noticed. "He seems extremely familiar to me..." she said softly. Kale noticed her pensive stare and asked, "You've met before?"

However, she quickly shook her head. "No, definitely not! He just looks like someone I knew a long time ago, I think..." she trailed off again, this time closing her eyes and scrunching her face in frustration. "I can see him! Sort of, I mean, I see his face, but I just can't place _where _I've seen him before!"

The general found this to be extremely odd. As far as he knew, Minako had never had very many run-ins with his Prince in their past life. The only times he could think of them interacting at all was whenever she came to retrieve her misbehaving Princess from Earth and prying her away from Endymion's arms. If she should be puzzling over where she'd seen one of them, it should be himself, considering their personal past.

Kunzite checked himself. No. He _wasn't _jealous. What happened in the past was over, and it wouldn't happen again. It couldn't. There was too much at stake. He would remain professional. He had taken the same approach last time, however, and it hadn't worked so well then either.

Minako opened her azure eyes, deciding for now that it wasn't coming to her. She looked to Kale next to her, who seemed to be staring at her with a rather unusual intensity. Becoming slightly uncomfortable to be under his penetrating and smoldering gaze, she turned back to the sidewalk.

"Well? Shall we continue our walk?" she asked with a smile. This seemed to snap him out of his daze, and fell into stride with the girl once more. "So now that I finally discovered your name, tell me more! I want to know everything!" she said with another one of her winning smiles, to which Kunzite returned with a small one of his own.

"Where shall I start?"

The week had passed rather uneventfully. Since her cat had interfered he hadn't had a chance to work back up to telling her who she was. He'd actually tried several times, but whenever he got close to breaching the subject that damn feline seemed to cause some sort of distraction. It was like it knew what he was trying to tell Minako, and for some reason, seemed to make it his personal mission to stop him.

Sighing, Kunzite walked into the bar, casually glancing around for his brothers and fellow former generals. Spotting Jadeite making extravagant motions while he was telling another one of his tall tales, he marched over and took a seat. "I hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, how are you all faring?" he asked with an enormously obscene grin on his face. Nephrite and Zoicite looked completely irritated, while Endymion was watching with an amused grin as he took a gulp from his drink. "I hadn't expected this to become a competition between all of you." he said good naturedly. "We're only human, Prince, and not only that, we were always competitive. Of course this is only one more thing we're determined to beat each other at. I just can't believe _that _one achieved it so quickly." remarked Zoicite, bitterly but with humor.

"Zoi, it was Endymion then, it's Endymion now. Or Mamoru, whichever you prefer." he reminded them again. He'd said it to them countless times in his past life, and he supposed it would only continue in this life. He sighed, _'I'll never win.' _and chuckled. "I'll stick with Endymion, since you seem attached to our old names as well." commented Zoicite.

"So what did Jadeite win, exactly?" Kunzite asked, inserting himself into the conversation. "Sailor Mars has awakened," Nephrite said dryly. "And he won't shut up about it."

"I'm just so in shock that it was _so easy!"_ he said with particular verve. "And how, pray tell, did this occur so quickly?" Kunzite asked tightly. Seeing he was in for a long night, he ordered bourbon from a passing waitress.

_Once the girl who was quietly simmering in rage had caught the General's eye, he instinctively knew this girl would become Sailor Mars. While she was quiet and ladylike, it was obvious she had a fire in her that one would be a fool to mess with. Then again, Jadeite was known for being a risk-taker. _

_Knowing she'd be weary of a strange man striking up random conversation with_ _her, he discreetly followed her home to see her ascend numerous steps to a shrine at the top. _'Perfect. With any luck I can get a job here to get closer to her.' _After Jadeite climbed the last of the steps he saw the girl talking to a short bald man who he heard her call "Ojii-chan." The girl left, but not before catching his eye and giving him an icy glare. He quirked a brow and smirked. So she had known he was there after all. _

_He approached her grandfather and asked if he was looking for any hired help. "Well of course you can have a job! With a pretty face like yours you'll attract all kinds of beautiful young women to wish at my shrine! I'd like nothing better! Welcome aboard!"_

_Jadeite thanked the man, and told him he'd very much like to start today if possible. "Well of course! I'll just call my granddaughter out to show you where you can get some robes! Rei! Come meet our new shrine keeper!" _

_Rei slid the door open and Jadeite saw that she'd changed into miko robes herself. They were incredibly suited for her, only adding to her classical beauty. "Grandpa, you can't be serious! What do you even know about this guy?"_

"_I know that he's incredibly handsome and he will only help business!" _

_The future Sailor Mars only continued to chastise her grandfather while Jadeite looked on in amusement. There was no question about it any more, she was the Soldier of Flame and Passion. Rei snapped her eyes to Jadeite. "You. What's your name?" _

"_Anderson. Jensen Anderson. I'm from America, miko-sama."_

_Her glare intensified. "Don't call me that. Hino-san will be just fine." _

_The week passed without event for him, but it wasn't hard to see that Rei was not happy with the new hired hand. She'd come home from school that Wednesday more angry than usual. She refused to speak to anyone, let alone the obnoxiously happy foreigner who charmed the charms into schoolgirls' bags. He knew she had a short fuse, but this seemed like something deeper. Something more personal._

_Jadeite approached the fire room with some tea for Rei, in hopes for some bonding so he could eventually awaken her. "Hino-san?" he called from the other side of the screen door. "I have some tea here for you, if you'd like." _

_There was a short silence before he received an answer, which was more than he'd anticipated. The door slid open suddenly, and if it weren't for his training Jadeite would've fallen over from the shock. _

"_Tea? Gee, how thoughtful Anderson-san, when I'm sitting in a room in robes that cover me from head to toe with a huge fire blazing. Tea is just what I'd like." Luckily by now he was used to her thinly veiled contempt._

"_Hino-san, I can tell something is bothering you, and I just want you to know, you can tell me anything. I'd like to help cheer you up if I can."_

_While Rei just stared at him skeptically, Jadeite made a move, shouting, "TA-DA!" and yanking pop-up flowers out of his robes with a flourish. At first, Rei's eyes widened, not really believing what she saw before her. She gave him a quick up and down, before trying to choke back a laugh. She tried not to let him catch on, by turning it into a cough, but could tell it was too late. He extended his arm to offer her the fake flowers._

_She began laughing in earnest, lightly and delicately. "I don't know how you're so happy all the time Anderson-san. I would be so exhausted keeping up your energy all the time. How do you do it?"_

_He smiled gently. "I like to think of my family. It's been a long time since I've seen them, but I like to look back at the memories and remember the little things. The squabbles, the days spent together. Y'know, the things that make a family."_

_The laugh drained off her face. "Yes, it's certainly not traditional values that make a family, is it?" She said without much question in her voice. "It's certainly not blood, or loyalty, or _love _that make any difference to some people."_

_She turned to leave, but before she could, Jensen stopped her by grabbing her shoulder. "I understand your relationship with your father is strained, does that have anything to do with why you're so upset?"_

_She turned on him quicker than lightning, eyes blazing. "You have no right to ask that." She hissed sharply. _

"_Someone has to say it to you Hino-san. If I don't, you'll refuse to address it, and it'll smolder inside of you for eternity. You'll never be able forgive your father for whatever he's done to you. I just wanted to say that. I'm sorry that I spoke harshly to you, but I don't regret what I said."_

_Rei stared back at him wide eyed, fury building quickly behind him. She opened her mouth, ready to tell him off and get him to leave her alone once and for all, when she became very hot. Her violet eyes closed, and she keeled over, grasping her head as she was assaulted by a tumult of emotions and bright flashes of a life she had forgotten. It lasted forever, and yet not long enough for her to grasp everything. When it was over she was sweating and breathing heavily. Finally, she heard Jensen… _Jadeite_… calling her name, asking what was wrong. _

"_What did I just see?!" she screamed._

"And that was it. It was really sudden, over before I knew what was happening. I don't really know what the trigger was." Jadeite shrugged, looking pensive.

At this Zoicite rolled his eyes and sighed. "You said it yourself, she's the soldier of Flame and Passion." the youngest general stated obviously. The remaining generals and Prince stared at him with the same blank expression on their faces.

"You were talking to her about a subject she clearly felt very passionate about, and it seemed to trigger something deep within her, for whatever reason."

"But I'm sure she's had heated debates with many other people of the subject before, so why did it happen this time?" asked the auburn haired general. "Maybe it was something about Jadeite. Maybe she reacted specifically to passion regarding him." added Endymion. "If I remember correctly from our past lives, he was always the one that seemed to get under her skin best."

"So, what, to get the girls to awaken is as simple as reuniting them with their focus as a senshi?" Jadeite made a rather abrupt mood changed as he became involved in their hypothesizing.

"If it's true, it should prove to be fairly easy to awaken the rest of them, correct?" Nephrite asked. "Not necessarily, I'm thinking we'll have to connect with them on a more personal level. Get them to react to their focus as well as us, as Jadeite did." confirmed the strawberry blonde man.

"Ok, so let's think. Ami's Mercury, what's her focus?" asked Endymion. "Water and Intellect. Should be fairly easy, I'll teach her something new." said Zoicite.

"We'll see how easy that'll prove to be," Nephrite mumbled to Kunzite with a smirk, who returned it.

"Jupiter?" Endymion turned to Nephrite. "Soldier of Thunder and Courage. It'll prove to be harder than others probably."

Endymion looked to Kunzite. "Venus.." Endymion realized before Kunzite had to answer what it would mean for his first general. "Soldier of Beauty and... Love." he said somewhat grimly. "She'll have to fall in love with me to awaken."

The others adopted his somber mood, knowing that would be very difficult. Not only because love is not something that happens every day, but because of their past and how hurt Kunzite was by the Lady Venus.

No one at the table said anything for quite some time. They all of a sudden felt out of place in the loud bar where people were drinking merrily, making noise at their own respective tables. Kunzite's face soon took on a resolved hardened expression. "I'll do it. Just because she has to fall in love with me doesn't mean I have to fall for her." he said resolutely. His brothers exchanged uncertain looks as they hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst.

As they all left, Endymion and Kunzite walked towards their respective apartments which were within two blocks of each other. Kunzite brought up their encounter the other day, and asked what exactly had happened when he and Minako shook hands.

"I'm not entirely sure. Her power seemed to course through me, and it felt very.. familiar."

"She used the same word to describe you, though she had no explanation for it." he informed the dark haired man, whose blue eyes were dark as he concentrated.

"I have a theory Kunzite. It's somewhat far-fetched, but hear me out. You remember that in our past, Minako and Serenity were cousins?" The silver haired general nodded. "They had very similar aura signatures. If you didn't know the difference, you'd easily get them mixed up while searching for one or the other."

"It makes sense, Prince. But I'm afraid I don't see where you're going with this."

"What I'm trying to say, is ever since I met Minako, I've been feeling her... presence in certain parts of town. At least, I think so. Whenever I get the feeling, I'll make a few rounds of the neighborhood I'm in. A couple times, I've seen her, walking with you mostly. But other times, I can't find her anywhere. I think her signature is still similar to that of her previous cousin and is interfering with finding the Moon Princess." he finished.

Kunzite wore a thoughtful look, as he considered this. His Prince did have a very valid argument, and logic persuaded him to agree. "She did often fill in for Serenity at functions when there was an assumed risk, didn't she."

"I think Minako is subconsciously playing the role of decoy once again. From a danger she doesn't know of. Kunzite, I know this will be trying on you friend, but you must awaken her as soon as possible, so we can locate Serenity as well as keep Minako safe from the Dark Kingdom."

Kunzite came to a stop on the sidewalk. He looked at his Prince, and knew he had no choice. He just hoped he would be able to salvage his own heart in the process of saving Minako.

**I can't resist flame puns with Reiiiii! **The scene with her and Jadeite was still rough, I just wanted to give the other senshi and shitennou a little more acknowledgement in the story. I also thought it would be hilarious if Jadeite was into corny prop magic, to annoy Rei, mostly Hope you all thought it was good enough haha

I hope you enjoy the revised Chapter Three! I really worked hard on it, changed a lot of things! I'm definitely still in the game!

I kinda realized that I haven't clarified some of the Japanese I've used. I know most of us readers know the basics, so I haven't bothered! But I guess I should clarify just the same!

Chapter 1:

Unmei - Fate (when Kunzite calls Nephrite Madam Unmei it's supposed to be a play on words lol)

Chapter 2:

Gomen - Sorry

Chapter 3:

-kun, -chan - honorific suffixes. Kunzite doesn't use one with Minako because he knows if he did she'd just tell him not to (it's a different matter with Endymion)

Mou - A common Japanese pout haha

Well please review! I like to know my work is appreciated! I'll be getting Chapter IV out as soon as possible! :)

Ja ne! - Loosely translated to, See you!

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	4. Chapter IV

Sorry it's taken me longer than it usually does! I got stuck on a couple scenes so it's a little rough, but I hope you're enjoying it so far. I've accomplished almost everything I wanted to for the set up. Now it really starts to get good. ;) These chapters seem to be steadily getting longer and longer and I'm sorry for the inconsistency of it T.T I have all my major plot points planned out and they seem to be getting more elaborate as the story continues.

* * *

><p>Chapter IV : Warming<p>

Artemis was confused. He woke up 10 minutes before he was supposed to wake up Minako, as he always did, to find her ready to walk out the door. "About time sleepyhead!" she called over her shoulder, while she tied her long silky locks back with her signature red bow. "Mina, what're you doing up already? Is it daylight savings time already?" he asked glancing at her clock. She just giggled, "No, silly, I just woke up and couldn't fall back asleep."

He was sure she'd been replaced by some Dark Kingdom clone, before she said as she was walking out her bedroom door, "C'mon! Early bird gets the seed!" Artemis sighed and hung his head in exasperation. Nope. This was undoubtedly Mina. "It's worm, Mina."

"Who would want worms?"

* * *

><p>As they walked down the street on her way to her torture center, Artemis felt the need to discuss the man that had been keeping her company for the past few weeks. "Minako," he began, and she looked down at him curiously. He only used her full name when he wanted to talk about something important.<p>

"I'm worried about this guy." he said without explanation. He knew she wasn't so oblivious that she hadn't noticed his dislike for the silver haired man.

"Ohhh, not this again!" she cried in frustration. "Artemis, there is absolutely nothing unusual about Kale! He's been perfectly polite every time we meet, I can't understand why you're so hung-up about this!"

"I think we both know that you're lying. You know there's more to him than he's telling you." Artemis reasoned patiently. He wouldn't get anywhere with her if she felt he was attacking him. "But that doesn't mean he has bad intentions!" she defended him. "There's something different about him..." she sighed almost dreamily.

The white feline sighed. "Just promise me you'll be careful around him, alright? I'm just worried about you." Minako smiled down at him, "I know, you're just my little guardian, ne?" Minako smiled as she thought back to when she met her strange talking companion.

* * *

><p>She'd been walking home late after detention, later than usual. She'd been assigned to help grade her homeroom teachers' papers, and after 4 hours she could barely keep her eyes open.<p>

It was winter, so night had already fallen, even though it was only around 7 in the evening. As she walked down the street she found that she wanted nothing more than to get home, and made the mistake a young girl in a vulnerable state should never do; she decided to take a short cut.

As she dragged her feet down a back street she noticed that someone else had taken the same path as her, hearing the crunch of snow under a strangers boots. She didn't think much of it. Just because someone else took the same shortcut home didn't automatically mean they were following her. As she continued for some time, however, she found that the boots made all the same turns she did.

Not wanting to panic, she began making turns at random, going down obscure alleys and through back lots of buildings. She tried to find the hustle of the city streets again, but found she'd traveled too far from people, and was now hopelessly lost.

What the stranger didn't know is that Minako is not a weak-minded girl. She found herself formulating a plan, rather effortlessly to her shock, even with the tension of her situation muddling her thoughts. After a few more minutes of wandering, Minako found herself in a good position to confront the man behind her.

_'Alright, don't panic. You can do this. You will not be some sob story they talk about on the news tomorrow!'_

Minako turned down another alley, and finally spun around to face her follower. The man was your stereotypical mugger. Unkempt, dirty, with tattered clothing and the creepiest smile she'd ever seen. "What do you want?" she asked the man with fire in her eyes. "I jus' wanna play, girly." was the rugged voice's response.

It was then she saw the glint of the blade in her attackers hand, and she became worried. Hand to hand she could handle, but not a weapon. Deciding she'd be better off running, she took off down the alley, until she came to a chain link fence that was far too high to climb even for someone as athletic as herself.

_'How disgustingly cliche and sick!' _

Not one to give up so easily, the former senshi looked around in the alley for a weapon of her own to use for her defense. Nothing useful seemed close enough. She saw some garbage can lids she could use as a shield at the beginning of the alley, but they were blocked by the mugger.

_'Come on girl, think! You're more resourceful than this!' _

Her eye caught on a door that must be the back entrance of a restaurant, and dashed over to open it. It had a thick iron chain looped around the two handles, but there was no padlock in sight. Thinking she was saved, she hurriedly tried to take the chain off the door, before her attacker closed distance and put his knife to her throat, as he was surely coming to do as she heard his boots take off.

She managed to unravel the chain and yank on the door but it wouldn't budge. It had to have been locked from the inside! Realizing her attacker was just behind her, she whirled around kicking as she went. "Get away!" she yelled as her foot made contact, but only with his arm, as he'd been ready for her response.

In a great show of athleticism and adrenaline, she pulled her second leg around as well to bring it in contact with his head before twirling to the ground and landing on her butt. The chain slid from her hands to the other side of the alley, and was now out of reach as well. Cursing, she stood up quickly and tried to run around the fallen man between her and her line of defense.

Unfortunately the man had shaken off her hit and grabbed her leg as she ran past, causing her to trip and hit the pavement hard. She cried out in anticipation of the pain as she fell toward the cement, but luckily she was able to catch herself.

Looking back at the man who had now risen and held her leg, she tried to kick him with the leg he didn't have a hold of, while wiggling the one he did as frantically as she could. Eventually he just threw her leg to the side, and before she could get up kicked her in the stomach. She cried out in pain at the impact.

"Help! Someone.." she cried as loud as she could, but considering how winded she was from the blow it didn't carry very far. "It's too late sweetheart, no one's comin' for ya."

She turned back to the chain that was on the ground in front of her to reach for it. She wanted to cry in frustration as it was just out of reach. _'I can't believe this! I _will not _become another statistic of helpless girls!' _

With her determination renewed, she waited for the next blow that was sure to come. When she saw the foot rise she swept her leg under his with lightning speed. He came crashing to the ground. Crawling the remaining few feet to the chain, she picked it up and rose as quickly as she could when she heard a cry of rage.

She turned in fear she wouldn't have time to defend herself, but she found he'd already risen again and was battling off a small white cat that was on top of his head clawing at his face.

Somehow in the two falls he'd sustained and with the creature atop him the man had managed to hold on to the knife, and was about to thrust it into the small cat's stomach. Reacting purely on instinct, Minako rose the chain and threw it with all her strength. Luck was on her side as it wrapped once around his wrist. She yanked down on the chain, resulting in him losing his grip on the knife.

Seeing that she'd managed to regain her feet, the cat jumped sleekly off the man and dashed off to the side. Taking the chance the cat had given her, she raised the chain again and whipped the length of it level with the goon's head. The end wrapped around his head and smacked into his temple, finally causing the thug to black out.

Panting and trembling as she tried to calm down, she dropped the chain before running back out the alley. Hazily she noticed the small cat ran out with her, not that she minded. After making it back to the busy streets she collapsed at the first bench she found, pulled her knees up to her chin and sobbed into her skirts.

"Are you ok?" Her head whipped up and she began wiping away her the tear stains, while shakily nodding. "Yeah," she sniffed, "I'm fine."

"You don't have to pretend you weren't scared." the voice said again. She looked to her side and saw the cat from before. Puzzled, she continued to look around for whoever had been talking to her. "Hey there Kitty, I guess I owe you one huh?" she reached out to pet it.

"It was nothing, I'm just glad I got there to help you in time." said the cat.

Said. The cat. Wha-? Her hand froze mid-air. "Uhh.." was her elegant reply. "Minako, don't freak out."

"How do you know my name? No, wait, better question! _How _are you able to talk at all?"

Artemis sweat-dropped, and realized he should have taken a different approach. Oh well, too late now. "My name is Artemis. I've been watching you lately. As for my ability to speak, you'll get used to it. You seem to adapt to things quickly enough." he said matter of factly.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, just take a look. Two minutes ago you were crying, and now you're absolutely fine. You're a strong girl Minako. You're meant for more than the average middle schooler."

As the shock of the talking cat seemed to subside, she realized he was absolutely right. While most girls her age would break out in tears at the slightest jab of character, she brushed it off without a thought and set out to prove said persons wrong. She'd always been independent, where others her age always seemed to flock together.

"So," she began, wiping the last traces of tears from her rosy cheeks. "what exactly am I meant for?"

"That's not important right now, let's just get you home soon, ok?"

She nodded tiredly, and stood before scooping him up in her arms. "You've got my back right?" she asked timidly, almost muttering into his coat. His eyes softened and rubbed against her cheek. "Always."

* * *

><p>"I just want to know what he wants before this goes any further." Artemis continued his worry rant. "Well lately it's <em>seemed <em>like he's been trying to tell me something, but he always seems to get cut off for some reason." she said with a pointed look at him. "I'm not as entirely oblivious as you think I am."

"Good, I'd be worried if you hadn't noticed." he said without shame. "Although I still can't believe you thought he was gay." the crescent marked cat chuckled.

"Hey! There were very convincing signs that I _apparently _mis-read!" she shouted irritably.

"Um, excuse me!" they heard someone call behind them. "You with the bow! Excuse me!" the voice called again. Realizing whoever it was meant her, she turned to see a very pretty girl in a different school uniform approaching her. She had luscious black tresses, long enough to rival her own, with striking violet eyes. Her uniform was varying shades of gray with dark reds thrown in to accent, and a much shorter skirt than usual for uniforms.

"Ah, gomen! I jus-" she stopped in front of her in shock. "Nani? Who're you?" Minako asked in confusion. "Sorry, uh, you dropped your notebook back there," the elegant girl said, handing back said notebook. "My name's Hino Rei." she told her with a polite smile. "Aino Minako," she said with a smile of her own. "What school do you go to? I don't recognize that uniform." the blonde inquired curiously.

"Ah, T.A. Girls' Academy. Sorry, I hope you don't find this presumptuous, but do you recognize me?"

The question caught Minako off guard, but in the back of her mind, she had been trying to figure out why this beautiful girl looked so familiar. She had a nagging feeling that they knew each other, like sisters.

"Maybe," she said with a tilt of her head, "I just don't know from where." Rei gave a small smile and a knowing look, "For our leader you seem pretty clueless." she said without reserve. Artemis sounded like he'd suddenly choked on something, and while Minako was looking back and forth between her cat and this strange girl who radiated an air of pride and grace she only felt her confusion grow. "Nani? Clueless about what?"

The only answer she got was the strange girl grabbing her hand warmly and saying with a wink, "You're meant for more Minako-chan. I'll see you soon." With that she took off leaving Minako more frustrated than ever.

"Why won't anyone give me a straight answer!"

* * *

><p>When school finally let out Minako walked out into the courtyard and began her now daily scan for the towering silver haired man. She didn't see him. Frowning slightly, she made the sweep of the region a second time. She gave a heavy sigh, she'd had a long day and was looking forward to his companionship, but she supposed that he couldn't meet her everyday. He probably had other things he had to accomplish as well.<p>

Beginning her walk home she resigns herself to a boring night of homework. As she passes a small suburban alley a hand shoots out and grabs hold of her uniform sleeve before giving a firm yank into the alley.

Since the incident where she met Artemis she never wanted to have a repeat of what happened that night, so she'd taken self-defense classes every weekend. She's been told by the instructor that she was a natural and wrote it off to her wonderful gift of athleticism. She prayed she'd never have to use them again, but was glad she'd put the time in.

She brought her opposite hand sharply down onto the wrist that held her shirt causing his grip to loosen. Bringing up the arm that had been held immobile, she caught the same wrist and threw it back to her attacker while bringing her foot up in a sharp upward kick to the face. Her ankle was caught however, by her attackers opposite hand.

It was then that she noticed that it wasn't an attacker at all. It was Kale! He looked at her with a smug grin, "Well I'm glad to see you're not just talk. That's the closest thing you'll ever get to a spar."

"Kale!" she cried, dropping her leg and leaping up to hug him around his neck. This girl just loved to throw him for surprises didn't she? "I'm so happy I get to see you today after all!"

Deciding to ignore her enthusiasm at risk of his own embarrassment, he told her as calmly as he could, with her young full figure pressed against him as it was, "I decided that I was drawing too much unwanted attention to myself by waiting for you at school everyday. People will begin to talk." She slightly released herself from the embrace, but kept her arms tightly around his neck, while his own hands rested lightly on her arms.

"People already are, but I don't mind." she said with a bright smile. "Well now they'll stop talking, hopefully."

Gazing at him with her nervous sapphire orbs she parted her tremulous rose lips before breathing out softly, "What if I don't want them to?"

His steely gray eyes lightened to to the slightest shade of lavender while flickering to her lips ever so briefly. Seizing her chance she yanked him down to her level and snatched his mouth before he could try to reason his way out of this.

It was like a burst of longing erupted from both of them as his hands fell from her arms to wrap securely around her waist, pulling her soft body as close to his firm one as he could, while she even dared to raise her right leg to rest against the wall of the alley in an effort to bring herself closer still. Her slippery tongue traced the outside of his lips before he parted them and plunged his own into her warm mouth.

His own left hand left her waist to travel up the smooth expanse of her leg, making his way under her school skirt to come to rest on her buttocks. Deciding that she wanted more, she rested her weight on his more than stable shoulders before jumping up to wrap both her legs around him, never breaking the searing contact between their lips.

Whirling them around in his arms he put her back against the alley wall, pushing her up so that she was actually taller than him in his arms. Her hair fell to drape around them in a molten curtain, giving an illusion of privacy as he continued to assault her sweet mouth, while her small hands grasped at the base of his neck as if letting go would be impossible. With his own hands free from supporting her they wandered down to travel down her sides indulgently. She shuddered from passion at the intimate contact.

When they finally broke away to catch their breath, their heavy pants and gasps were the only sounds between them for some time while they gazed at each other with profound expressions as they individually worked through what had just happened. When Kunzite slowly brought her back to her feet, as soon as he was convinced she was balanced, he hastened away from her like a bat out of hell before freezing only a few feet away.

He turned to face her, the little minx still trying to catch her breath with a far away gaze. _'What did I just let happen?' _Instantly he regretted it. He was not supposed to get distracted by her, this was all supposed to stay professional, but now he'd have no choice than to get involved. He couldn't let it become personal though. As much as he hated the thought, he'd have to keep his distance from her as much as possible.

She turned to look at him still panting and gave him a breathless smile. His heart caught. This had gone too far once again, and just like last time, he hadn't even be able to anticipate it.

* * *

><p>Aaaaand - that's all for now folks! Four chapters! New record! Pleeeease review! I want to know your thoughts so I can improve it if necessary! Thanks so much!<p>

Japanese -

Nani - What

Plus I hope I'm capturing the Minako/Artemis dynamic well, I don't feel like I am, but hopefully I'm close. Til next time! :)


	5. Chapter V

Wellll this has been a rough chapter, but I'm hoping it came out well enough to you guys. Sorry it took so long, a writers worst fear came true, I got saddled with a case of writers block T.T But don't worry! I've found new inspiration and the story is going strong again!

* * *

><p>Chapter V : Cold<p>

"I don't see the emergency friend, it's probably about time you let loose a little and it's not like your little adventure won't end up helping you in your goal." said the strawberry-blonde man, with his back to his fellow general as he opened his liquor cabinet.

"This is not the time to analyze my personal life Zoi. We both know it's dangerous for us to go back down this road. It's like history is repeating itself." said Kunzite pacing impatiently. "Either you sit down and have a drink with me or you can wear a hole in someone else's living room." was the intoned reply.

With that said Kunzite slumped into a nearby leather chair with a sigh. "I'm at a loss of what to do." He ran a tanned hand down his face before lowering it to drum his fingers on the armrest. "This is shaping up to be just like our past lives. The problem is I'm the only one that knows it. She has no idea what she's doing, or maybe she does on some subconscious level."

Zoisite poured a scotch for himself and his troubled mentor, handing it to the taller man before sitting on a nearby chairs armrest. "Look, I'm almost sure you're over-thinking this. In our last life she was practically the embodiment of Aphrodite herself, and she definitely knew what she was doing, whether it was right or not, whereas this time she's merely a junior high school student fol-"

"Which makes it all worse! She's four years younger than myself in this life. That makes what happened between us all the more complicated."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she doesn't care, and anyone else who does can go screw themselves?"

"Aren't you supposed to be my voice of reason?" The silver general asked bitterly took a sip of the burning liquid.

"This is my reason; if you'd let me finish I was going to say that she's a teenager following the drive of her hormones. I don't believe she's doing anything similar to our past lives besides the same approach. We both know that once the Lady had put her sights on something before she'd be hard pressed not to get her way eventually. Minako is merely following the same M.O." explained the European general with a small wave of his hand.

"It complicates everything. She's going to expect something next time I see her. And whether or not I like it I'm forced to pretend there's something there."

Zoisite raised an elegant eyebrow. "You're saying you don't feel anything for her."

"No, nothing beyond companionship, and respect for who she was before as well as who she is to become." he said with another sip.

The pony-tailed man was silent for several minutes with a stern look on his face. When it was clear Kunzite didn't plan on owning up to it, he spoke up. "Since when am I the one who has to knock some sense into your head?"

Kunzite looked up at his former pupil blankly. "I beg pardon?"

"If you don't feel anything for her, why did you respond to her advance?"

"It was a purely physical react-"

"Bullshit. Kunzite, I've known you long enough to know that you never let yourself get carried away. Never, until you met her. She changed you, for better or worse, she was always the one to loosen you up. You've always been a stiff when it came to women. You expect me to believe that she's not different?"

Kunzite was somber as he considered this. Had she really already slipped through his long built defenses? It had only been a couple of weeks. But that didn't mean that he felt anything for her. It simply meant he had underestimated her once again. "What am I supposed to do Zoi?"

"Jesus man, stop acting so lost. You're Kunzite, the leader of the Shitennou, start acting like it. I shouldn't have to give you a wake-up call."

Huh. Who would've thought the student would lecture the teacher. Kunzite appraised how far his charge had come from their last life. Zoisite had always been bright, but he'd never had thought he'd be so enlightening.

The green-eyed man watched his mentor carefully as he pondered what he'd said, before breaking his thoughts sharply. "I awakened Ami-chan." This caused Kunzite to give a heavy sigh and run his hand through his silver locks. "Well done. What did you teach her?" he asked.

"Exactly what I'm trying to get through your thick skull," he answered with a smirk, "To relax and not worry so much. The girl was so obsessed with preparing to get into a good university already that she was driving herself into the ground with all her extracurriculars. I told her she had plenty of time to prepare and that she shouldn't waste her whole youth preparing for adulthood. Eventually I had to use logic on her but she the point finally sunk in and she transformed. Poor girl was a little startled at first but after I explained who I was and her memories started coming back she started going on about how the powers of the past Queen never ceased to amaze her." he finished with a chuckle and a shake of his head. "I swear that girl's brain never shuts off."

Kunzite seemed to be deeper in thought than before, and Zoisite sighed in exasperation. "Kunzite, go find her and talk to her before you give yourself a migraine."

Zoisite's words seemed to be like lightning to Kunzite, he rose out of the chair and downed the remainder of the drink before Zoisite could fall off the armrest in surprise.

"Zoi, you're absolutely right." Without anymore explanation, the tall man swept from the room and left the apartment.

After a dramatic pause, Zoisite muttered to himself, "Can I get that in writing?"

* * *

><p>Kunzite found himself approaching the school once more, even though he'd told Minako it wasn't a good idea. He made it just in time for the last tolling of the school bell signaling the release of the students. He waited patiently to see the familiar and stand-out blonde head with the red bow atop it.<p>

He finally spotted her making her way through the crowd casually, but something was different. She was with another person. Another blonde. Another boy. Maybe a year older than her, but still a boy.

She seemed to be distracted by this other person, so Kunzite decided to drop into the shadows (a skill he was quite proud of, since wherever he went people usually always noticed him) beside a tree and observe their interaction.

As they moved closer to the tree he heard their conversation drift over.

"I have to ask Ace-kun, is there a reason you've starting talking to me all of a sudden? We've been in class together all year so far, and you've hardly said a word to me before today." he heard the lilting voice of Minako.

The responding voice was deeper than Kunzite would've expected from the adolescent. "Well honestly I've been working up the nerve to try and talk to you all year." Ace admitted with an embarrassed laugh. "Oh? And what made today different?" was her playful reply.

"I don't know." he said simply, before he turned to her a little more, the picture of calm, with his bag tucked between his arm and side with his hands in his pockets, as Minako walked with him, her bag simply held in front of her. "It just seemed right." he said with a charming smile.

Despite herself, Minako felt a small blush grace her cheeks. She secretly wished Kale would show up though, and stake his claim on her like she wanted. But still, she couldn't deny that Ace was a nice guy, and not a bad looker. She just doubted he could rival the way her and Kale connected. Minako glanced down at his hands, which had been pulled out of the pockets to casually throw his bag over his shoulder. They were fair-sized, and judging from his forearms she had no doubt that they were well toned and firm, but Kale's...

She repressed a small shiver at the thought of Kale's rough hands sliding down her sides before firmly gripping her hips the day before. She doubted anyone could compare to his amount of masculinity and power. She smiled to herself at the thought.

"Can I walk you home?" Ace asked with another smile. Minako, broken out of her silent steamy memory, shook her head politely. "I've got to wait for Hikaru," she lied smoothly. "We've got a huge test to study for, remember? I'll never pass that stupid history test if I don't go through my textbook at least once." she said with a laugh.

"Well maybe you could make an addition to your study group? I'm something of a whiz in history. I don't forget any details." he said with another smile, though there was something a little smug about this one.

She tried to think of a way to turn him down without letting on to her lie. "I think you'd be more of a distraction than help," she said with a small wink and lighthearted laugh. "Maybe next time when my grade isn't riding on the outcome."

"Alright, well later! I'll see you tomorrow!" he said, walking toward the exit of the courtyard and turning the corner.

Minako gave a small sigh before she felt the presence behind her and jumped slightly. "Jeez Kale! You scared me, I thought you weren't going to come to the school again, huh?" she teased with a grin, looking up at his stony face.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately. It was obvious something was bothering him. Kale just continued looking toward the courtyard gate. She turned around in confusion, to see what he was looking at. Not seeing anything or anyone, she waved her hand in front of his face. "Hellooo?" she called out. His eyes flickered back to her, but that was the only change his face gave.

"If he's such a distraction from your studies perhaps I should leave you today as well." was all he said before starting for the gate as well. Minako was too quick as she cut him off. "Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?" Her eyes were shining now from untapped anger. "You're not getting away without telling me what you're so upset about!"

Having practice with her temper in their previous life, he wasn't fazed in the least. " Simply put Aino-san," she winced at the formality, "You've found a new distraction from going home. Don't let me stand in your way. I'm sure he didn't get too far." He brushed passed her when she could only look at him in shock.

However before he could get too far, he heard her quick footsteps follow him past the corner of the school he turned away from. Coming to stand in front of him, she crossed her arms, with an almost scornful look. "If I wanted a new distraction, I would've gone with him." was all she said.

"Well don't let what happened between us hold you back. It's clear you have some kind of feelings for him." he said icily, looking down at her. "What? What makes you think that!"

"Only how you smiled and blushed at his every flirtation." he sneered. "You were like a love-sick puppy."

"I was thinking of you!" she shouted indignantly, getting in his face.

Her outburst was nothing short of shocking, but he kept his composure. "How touching."

Her eyes blazed. "Doubt all you want, but that won't change the fact that the whole reason I was smiling was because I was comparing him to you! And how I doubted he could make me feel like you do." she nearly hissed the last part, becoming silent as he continued to look down at her.

"And how exactly do I make you feel?" he asked softly, his eyes ablaze as well, but for a different reason.

Her eyes melted as she gazed at him. "Like never before. I've been told before that I'm fickle," she began quietly. "but I find myself picturing a future with you, something I try not to think about usually. I think about the problems we'd face, and overcoming them because I think we can. I think about what happened between us yesterday, which both scares and excites me. I think I'm fal-" she was cut off by Kunzite's mouth slamming down onto hers.

Not wasting a moment, Minako dropped her bag before wrapping one arm around his neck, while the other hand grabbed at his shirt. Likewise, Kunzite wrapped a hand around her waist, to push her closer, while the other grabbed the back of her head to secure her to him while he leaned into their kiss.

It ended up in something of a dip, which caused Minako's head to spin in wonder at the man who held her. He would never cease to make her heart flutter madly like it was now, she was sure of it, and no one else could compare to him ever. They separated slowly, Kunzite righting them smoothly, and Minako picked up her bag.

"Everything you said was focused on what you think. I asked you how I make you feel. Don't say you love me when you don't." he slightly panted. Minako looked at him with a confused expression, which soon turned angry. "Don't tell me how I feel!"

"I'm only saying it because it's true. You don't love me. Maybe one day, but not today. I'll see you tomorrow. Go home and study for that test. You really should try for more in school." was his cool response, before he walked away from her.

Crossed between anger, embarrassment, and realization, she could only watch him as he walked away. When he had been gone for some time, she stepped back to lean against the brick wall and looked down at her shoes. _'I don't love him? That may be true, but... somehow I know if I could love anyone... I'd only love him.' _

She looked back down the street with eyes brimming with salty tears before they burst. Pushing herself off the wall she continued home, unaware of the eyes watching her, and the anger they reflected.

* * *

><p>When she reached home, she snuck in as quietly as possible and raced upstairs as fast as she could. She shut her door quietly, and found Artemis waking from his catnap on her bed. "Afternoon, Mina." the feline yawned widely as he stretched. "How was school?"<p>

By now, Minako's eyes were free of tears, but the redness gave her away. "What happened?" he asked worriedly, as she sat down at her desk. Artemis knew it took a lot to drive her to tears, so whatever happened had hurt her greatly.

"It's nothing." she sniffed, as she pulled her history textbook from her bag, and flipping to the appropriate chapter. Artemis leapt onto her desk to sit beside her book, waiting for her fess up. A good half an hour passed, and nothing changed besides the regular turn of the page.

When she finished the chapter she needed to study, she sighed as she closed the book once more. "Artemis," she began, "what am I meant for?"

The white cat was silent for a few minutes as he thought about how to tell her this. For whatever reason, he knew she wouldn't fully awaken yet. Her powers, while extremely developed, were still unstable. Besides, there weren't any attacks in their part of the world yet. The Dark Kingdom had yet to discover that the Princess and her Court were being hidden safely in Tokyo.

Still, Artemis found himself wanting to tell her who she really was. Since he'd found her beating up that thug in that fateful alley he could tell Minako was unhappy with who she was. Not herself per se, but she desired to be more than average. The young girl already was aiming for extraordinary. Normalcy was not enough for her, she needed excellence to be truly content.

Finally, Artemis looked up at his charge's tired blue eyes, and told her, "You're meant to be a leader, Minako."

She sat back in her desk chair with a blank look. "A leader of what?" she asked breathlessly.

"Something that will change the world." he said, almost serenely. "At this very moment there is a great evil planning to corrupt the world. Without you and four others like you, they will succeed. This evil has tried before to do this before, but failed because of you."

Minako listened in awe, surprising herself that she was accepting everything he was telling her. "Minako, in your last life, you were the Princess and Defender of the planet Venus."

Wait, what was that last part?

"Excuse me?"

Artemis sighed. He knew that would trip her up. "Years ago, Earth was not the only planet that supported life. Each and every planet in the system had their own magnificent Kingdom, and the royal Princesses of each planet was also a... diplomat of sorts. A soldier for their planet as well as the Silver Alliance, which included every planet in the system, aside from Earth." he explained.

"Why exclude Earth?" Minako asked with a vague air of skepticism. "No one remembers the exact reason, but it had to do with Earth being the youngest planet, and the majority of their people didn't possess magical abilities, like the rest of the planets did."

"Magical abilities? Like what?"

"Well, like your planet is the Metal Planet. You have a natural ability with all things metal, like that chain in the alley? In your past life the chain was your weapon of choice, but you were also a weapons expert from swordsmanship to spear throwing to archery. Other planets, like Mercury had an influence over water, to manipulate it and use its properties to develop medicines."

"...So... You're saying.. we were all aliens?"

Artemis sighed again. This was going to be a while.

* * *

><p>"You did what!" shouted the man as he threw his hands down on the bar. "Keep it down, if I'd have known you'd have this reaction I wouldn't have told you at all." grumbled Kunzite as he threw down another shot of whiskey.<p>

"I told her that I knew she didn't love me." he said quietly, thinking about her face when he'd said those harsh words.

"Pardon me friend, but what the _fuck _possessed you to do that! I thought Zoisite was supposed to be the awkward one when it came to women! Him being so gangly and womanly himself." Jadeite said in an attempt at humor, but Kunzite barely heard him.

"No, according to Zoisite I'm the stiff one." he muttered. "Well that's true, you do tend to scare them away sometimes." the blonde gestured with his hand in agreement.

"And something about that other boy... he seemed vaguely familiar..." the silver general said thoughtfully, turning to his companion. "Really? Like this life familiar, or last life familiar?"

"It'd have to be our last life, if I'd have run into him any earlier in this life he'd still be in diapers." Kunzite muttered into his glass before taking a drink of water.

"Now now, do I detect any jealousy from a grown man in reference to a toddler?" Jadeite nudged good-naturedly. Kunzite remained silent. "Oh come on Kunz, lighten up. This is exactly what Zoisite said about you being stiff."

When Kunzite only continued to sulk, Jadeite gave a huff of annoyance. "Look, I know what happened between you in the past makes this assignment more difficult, but sitting here moping isn-"

Jadeite was cut off by Kunzites' bar chair scraping against the wood floor as he stood up with urgency. "I know who he is," he said with a scowl. "What? You do?" Jadeite called after Kunzite, but he was already out of the bar.

It was Jadeite's turn to scowl. "Sure, ditch me when I had a totally awesome speech planned and leave me with the bill too. Sure, I got this, no problem." He said with a sip of his own drink, before smirking. "Of course, that's a sure sign the real Kunzite has come back."

* * *

><p>Dun dun dun! Of course, most people already know what Kunzite has remembered, but what's going to happen next is the real question right? I hope you're wondering, because that means you'll come back for the next chapter :) Review por favor! I'd appreciate it greatly! Pleeease let me know what you guys think too!<p> 


	6. Chapter VI

Hokay, so, no rambling. Here goes. It's a lot of talking, be warned. I'm sorry it's so short! :/

* * *

><p>Chapter VI : Lost<p>

"Minako! Someone's here to see you!" the blonde heard her father call from the stairwell. "Coming!" she responded from her room. As she trekked down the hallway she shook her head and gave a small sigh in hopes to expel the thoughts from her head. Artemis had laid quite a load on her and it was still all sinking in.

Having changed out of her school uniform, her loose white skirt flounced as she came down the stairs and readjusted her favorite green blouse that had three small buttons which were undone, stopping just before her cleavage.

She approached the door too see Ace waiting just outside the threshold to her doorway. "Ace-kun!" she said in surprise. "What're you doing here?" she asked with a fold of her arms to protect her from the cool spring wind coming through the door.

"Came to see how you were doing with that studying, since Hikaru-san seemed to know nothing about your study group?" he said with a smirk and knowing look. Minako blushed, she'd been found out. "Gomen Ace-kun, it's just I don't study well in any kind of group, and I needed to read my book in peace." she said. _'Though if it wasn't for what Kale said that book would still be unopened...' _

"It's fine, I was just worried about you." his face took on a more serious look. "Worried, why would you be worried about me?" she asked him as her eyes became nervous, while his continued to stare her down. "I forgot my english book in my locker, so I was coming back to the school when I saw you and that man that's been hanging around our school.."

Minako froze. But before another word could be said, or overheard by her mother, she stepped out onto the welcome mat and shut the door. "What are you talking about?" she asked with a light laugh, as she walked further up her driveway, and he followed.

"I saw that man kiss you Minako-chan."

Her mind started racing, how could she possibly play this off? She didn't want Kale to get in trouble, and he would surely be punished worse than her. Seeing no way to talk her way out of this, she resorted to begging. "Please don't tell anyone Ace-kun, it's really not his fault, he's my friend." Minako pleaded, clasping her hands in a nervous gesture.

In that moment Ace seemed to give her a judgmental glare, which extremely confused her. Why would he be angry? "How can you still have feelings for him!" he yelled in outrage. Minako glanced back at her home, and gently guided herself and Ace away from her driveway and slightly down the block.

"What are you talking about Ace-kun? I've only known Kale for a few weeks." she explained calmly.

"A few weeks? And you're kissing him and not even using a suffix?"

Minako didn't understand it, he seemed to be getting more and more angry with every passing second. "Ace-kun, I don't understand. Why're you so upset about this?"

Ace grabbed her hands and held them up to his chest, "Please Minako, why can't it be me?" Ace asked with sad eyes. Minako looked up at him with her own surprised eyes. "W-what?"

Before she could see it coming, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips, though she could tell he was restraining himself. Her eyes open throughout the whole kiss in shock, she didn't respond. He gripped her shoulders tightly, but it seemed to be more for himself than to restrict her.

When he released her lips he hung his head and couldn't meet her eyes, but he still whispered, "I love you."

Now Minako took a step back, and her eyes became hard. "You don't mean that."

This caused Ace's head to snap up in anger. "You don't know what you're talking about." he seethed.

"Ace-kun, you've barely ever spoken to me, you don't know anything about me."

She turned and began walking back to her home, only to freeze when she heard him breathe out, "I know you talk to your cat like he can hold a conversation with you.

"I know the exact expression your face makes when you come to a test question you don't understand. I know your relationship isn't the best with your mother because whenever Hikaru tells you something her mother said you get a sad look in your eyes. People think you're a ditz because of your carefree attitude but I know it's because you don't want them to really see you, so you cover it up with smiles. I know you seem fickle because all you really want is to find someone who will take care of you, but you have trouble letting yourself depend on anyone."

By now she was facing him again. She was stunned that he had noticed so much about her that she continued to stand frozen. He took another step towards her and grabbed her hand gently, "Won't you let me be that person?"

Her mouth opened and closed several times, trying to form a response. She just couldn't figure out what it was. Taking a final shaky breath, she cleared her head. "Why me?"

"It was always you, Minako." said a much deeper voice, behind Ace.

Ace whirled around, and Minako followed his gaze, to see Kale standing there in all his glory. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat, as if he'd just run a marathon, and his clothes and hair were wind-strewn, but his eyes were firm as he glared down Ace.

"Kale!" Minako yelled in relief, breaking away from Ace's light hold, and rushing to the taller man. When she reached him he quickly put her behind him, as if Ace was a threat. "Well well, you always did have to come at precisely the right moment and steal her from me, didn't you." the boy spat out bitterly.

"What's he talking about Kale? How do you know Ace-kun?" she asked from behind him. "I don't know," Kale ground out.

"Oh don't you? Even hundreds of years ago you took her from me when she wasn't yours to take!" Ace tried approaching them, but Kale only took a step back for every one that he took toward them. Kale took a threatening step forward, "This is not the place to talk about that. She's not ready to hear this, especially from you."

"Hundreds of years ago? You mean during the Silver Millennium?" Minako asked, causing both men to look at her in alarm.

"How do you know about the Silver Millennium, Minako?" Kale said, body still facing Ace, but his eyes were focused intensely on hers. She looked away. "Artemis told me about it."

"Your cat?" Kale sighed, making a note to ask later, and completely shifted his body to her. "What did he tell you, exactly?" he grit through his teeth. Minako looked at him in puzzlement, and back to Ace who seemed to be giving her a curious stare as well.

"That I'm destined to become Sailor Ve-," she started, before Kale cut her off, "What did he tell you about the past, specifically?"

Minako started stuttering in anxiousness, "N-not much, just that I used to be the Princess o-" she was cut off again, this time by Kale's hand. Now she looked up at him in agitation.

Kale lifted his fingers slightly, "Are you actually going to let me answer?" she grumbled through his hand. He slowly removed his hand with a glance back at Ace, but he seemed just as intrigued to hear what she had to say as well.

"I don't know that revealing yourself to him is the smartest thing right now is all," he said with a slight gesture toward the other blonde. Ace noticed this, and scowled. In a blur he flashed past Kale and attempted to grab Minako from his grasp.

But it's not as if Kale was his size merely to intimidate. As Ace grabbed Minako's arm, Kale wrapped a single arm around her before she had the chance to shriek. "Let me go!" she demanded, raising her leg in a powerful roundhouse kick. Ace stumbled back, raising a hand to his bleeding eyebrow. He gave an eerie smirk.

"I'm so glad to see you're still every bit the warrior you used to be." he said, before spitting out a mouthful of blood. "It's part of the reason I fell in love with you all those years ago."

Kale watched as Minako's face visibly paled. "Y-you and I... were in love?" she nearly choked.

But Ace scowled again. "I wish I could say yes. But _he _came between us." Ace spat out. "He tore us apart."

Minako looked up at Kale only to see a look of unparalleled rage. "You liar," he seethed. "_You _were the one who tore _us_ apart."

Minako unexpectedly broke away from Kale now, stumbling off to the side staring at Kale in disbelief. "Kale..." she breathed out. "Who're you really?"

Standing tall, Kale looked her steadily in the eyes. "I am the Heavenly King of Middle Earth, leader of Prince Endymion's forces, General Kunzite."

"And who were you to me... before." she asked softly, almost trembling. Kunzite paused, before nearly whispering. "I was your fiancee."

Ace smirked. "Emphasis on the _'was.'_" Kunzite turned to him and yelled viciously, "That was because of _you!_ You poisoned her mind against me." If looks could kill, Ace would be a pile of ashes still burning.

For her part Minako was gripping her head as if it was being torn apart from the inside. She was completely overwhelmed and almost not even paying attention to the two men shouting blame at each other as she stumbled aimlessly between the two on the sidewalk.

"What happened?"

Both men stopped their bickering and looked to her again, but Kunzite couldn't meet her gaze.

"I'll answer that," Ace continued to smirk. "In our last life, my name was Adonis. I was a foot soldier in the Venusian ranks. My unit was stationed on Earth under command of that pompous airbag," Kunzite growled and looked as if he was going to lash out. "I'd seen you before as my Princess of course, and I'd admired you. But one day you came to visit his Highness.

"Your grace and poise was renowned, but it was nothing compared to how you moved in battle. You were demonstrating with _him,_ and it was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen. After training was dismissed I sought you out to tell you so, and we talked for quite some time.

"Eventually a few weeks later you confronted me and told me that you couldn't lie to yourself anymore. Your feelings for the General had ebbed, and you wanted to be with me. I confessed I felt the same, and you kissed me." With a pointed look at Kunzite, he emphasized, "You _really _kissed me."

With wide eyes, Minako looked back at Kale. "What? N-no, I couldn-"

"It's true. I came around that damn corner and saw you two together. You even..." Kunzite closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wishing he could forget that moment. "You had your hand through the buttons of his uniform jacket, and breathing heavily on his neck." he ground out.

After several seconds of Kunzite sulking, Ace's continued smirking, and Minako's silent contemplation, she finally spoke. "You're lying."

Kunzite tried to ignore the catch in his throat. Ace wasn't smirking anymore. Minako had never looked so regal.

"I don't know how I know that. But I do know that no matter how fickle I seem, I'm no tramp."

Again, Kunzite ignored the swelling of his heart. "If I was engaged to you, I know, from the very core of my being, I would never do that." she said, taking a small step towards him, softly clutching at her breast.

As much as Kunzite wanted to, he still couldn't look at her. Ace spoke up for him. "He saw us with his own eyes. He can't bring himself to believe you."

Minako's eyes squinted with sadness and confusion. "I don't understand. You know me," she pleaded. "Of all the things I am, you know more than anything that I'm loyal to a fault."

Only silence followed. "If he knew that, he'd be holding you right now but..." With another flash he was behind her gripping both her wrists painfully behind her back. "Alas, he's not and he's handed you over to me." He grinned maliciously.

"No!" bellowed Kunzite, and without thinking his hand shot out in front of him. In that movement, a power surged through that Kunzite didn't know he possessed. A bright purple energy burst from his fingertips in the shape of a boomerang.

Before he could process what had happened the purple energy had struck Ace in the chest blowing him back. Somehow, he managed to keep hold on Minako's arms as she came down with him. He quickly regained his footing, and even leapt into the air holding Minako under her knees and around her back even as she struggled.

Coming to hover about fifteen feet above Kunzite's head, Ace knew it was over. That energy blast was a lucky shot and by the look on Kunzite's face he had no idea how to do it again, much less jump in the air to follow him. "Adonis! So help me God, I _will_ find you wherever you take her! There is no place on this Earth that you will be safe from me!"

With a swirl of leaves around his being, his school uniform faded away to a gray uniform with yellow piping and a cape attached at his shoulders the color of blue on the interior. "My name in this life is Danburite. First Lord for Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom. Minako will be fine, the last thing I want is for any harm to come to her. We're only in need of her... special talents."

"What exactly am I supposed to do?" Minako spat out, obviously rhetoric.

The most sinister smile yet adorned his face. "You can say goodbye, Minako, to the man who loved you... and then killed you."

Her face went blank, and she stopped struggling. "That's right, the one you thought was so noble and honest? He ran you through with his own sword."

Before Kunzite could tell her anything, even just say her name one more time, she began to fade away with Danburite. The last thing he saw before she completely vanished, was every speck of pain in her eyes... but there were no tears in sight.

* * *

><p>Soooooo I'm really sorry that it's been a while! I've just been struggling getting this chapter the way I want it, and work has kept me really busy so I haven't had as much time to work on this chapter as I'd like to say I have. And I know; this was kinda a cliche chapter altogether, but it'll get better in the next few chapters.. I hope haha :) Well as always please review and tell me your thoughts! Ja ne!<p> 


	7. Author's Note

So I wanted everyone to know that I'm still alive, and trying my hardest not to let this story die! The truth is I think about this story all the time but I feel I've written myself into a corner. I've by no means given up, but I'm definitely going to need some patience while I work on this.

A little good news though, I slightly altered Chapter Three. There's a whole new scene, and I tried to make things a little less angsty between Minako and Kunzite. Anywoo, just go read and hopefully enjoy!

Sorry for this terrible fake chapter that's like a stupid dangling carrot in your email. I apologize.


End file.
